Following My Nose in Florence With Help

Last week I gave you a little run-down of our adventures in Florence, navigating the city's culinary offerings without much expert help. Then I spent the day with Judy Witts Francini, aka Divina Cucina, who gave me a new angle on the city...

We started with a pre-noon prosecco with Gianni of Casa del Vino on Via dell'Ariento where you can buy wine by the bottle, or by the glass while snacking on bruschette laid out on the counter..

... then to a funny little hardware store where we found the Duralex wine tumblers we've been seeking for years (1.50 euro each!)

Then to the famous Central Market in the San Lorenzo neighborhood where, with Judy's insider's connections we tasted 30-year-old balsamic (it isn't exactly vinegar) with Manuel of Conti, learned about how to use dried horse meat (yup, more on that next week) and...

If you find yourself in Florence, I highly recommend looking up Judy and asking her to show you around some of the great food spots of the city. She also will lead cooking classes for groups, in and out of Florence. I'm taking her self-published book, Secrets from My Tuscan Kitchen, to Chianti next week and will come back with a review.